Mountaineers Down No. 24 Tigers 6-1 Sunday

CLEMSON, S.C. – West Virginia scored three unearned runs in the fifth inning after a costly Tiger error and cruised to a 6-1 win over No. 24 Clemson at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Mountaineers won the season-opening series 2-1.

West Virginia put its first two runners on base in the fifth inning, then a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt scored a run. The Mountaineers added two more runs on an RBI groundout and a two-out, run-scoring single in the fifth inning. Clemson rallied with four hits in the seventh inning, but scored only one run thanks to a crucial double play.

“We played a good team,” said Head Coach Jack Leggett. “They were scrappy. They did a good job offensively against us.

“We didn’t get a big hit when we had to and we grounded into three double plays, but give them credit, they turned three double plays when they had to.

“In the fifth inning, we just gave up a few unearned runs that hurt us, and they kept coming all day long. We almost had as many base hits, but we just didn’t make ours count.”

Chad Donato (1-0) picked up the win by tossing 6.0 effective innings, allowing seven hits, one run and one walk with five strikeouts. Tiger starter Brody Koerner (0-1) suffered the loss despite allowing just one run on three hits with a career-high eight strikeouts in 4.0 innings pitched.

Clemson faces Charleston Southern at Doug Kingsmore on Wednesday at 4 p.m. It is BOGO Wednesday, as fans can purchase one adult-seat ticket and receive an additional reserved-seat ticket free of charge.

[View the story “West Virginia at No. 24 Clemson (Feb. 15, 2015)” on Storify]